See Your Setting As A Film Set

For some authors, describing a setting is a challenge. Action, dialogue and conflict all flow easily from the imagination to the page or computer screen, whereas the minutiae of the room or scenery proves tricky to say the least.
Here is an exercise to help with those details which bring a scene to life for the reader.

Choose a picture. This can be a photograph, a picture in a magazine or newspaper, a book cover or you can even pause a scene on a DVD/television programme. Now ask yourself the following:

• If it is a building or room, who does it belong to and where is it situated?
• If it is a landscape or townscape, where is it?
• Make a list of the various elements in the picture.
• Now describe each one - colours, shapes, position, fabric or substance made of.
• Add any smells there might be.
• What might a character hear in this place?

For the second part of the exercise, write a brief description of the setting. It might help to set a kitchen timer or something similar.


For the third part of the exercise, write a scene between two characters in that setting or who are concerned with it in some way. Imagine the scene is happening on a film set. How do they interact with their surroundings?


You could also describe the setting from the point of view of a person who likes the place and then an alternative word picture from the standpoint of someone who doesn't like it.


You don't have to stick rigidly to your picture. Let the ideas flow and go where they take you.




Good luck! Heather King

A Hands-up!

Blog post – 16^th April 2014

 

This is an exercise that can be done anywhere – on a bus or train, in a supermarket or in a café.

Focus on a pair of hands. Think about the following:

What is the first thing you notice about them? For instance, is the person wearing a lot of dramatic-looking silver rings? Are the nails an intriguing shade of purple? Or are the nails bitten and ragged?

• Jot down a few details – including a few lines about where you’re sitting. Use the senses. Think about what you can smell, hear and taste.
   
• Write a brief biography for the person (approximately 150 words). Without staring at them too obviously, think about the clues you pick up from their behaviour, voice and how they are dressed.
   
• For the third part of this exercise – go into reverse! For instance, if you’ve created a nice character from the hands you’ve observed, think about doing the opposite. What if the nails are broken and the hands ingrained with dirt – or blood? What has that character been doing?

Find a way for the two characters to meet in some way. For instance, what if character number two is a long-lost parent, a being from another planet or a murderer? What happens next?


See how many story lines you can create.

Sue Johnson

 

 

 

Acrostic Acrobatics for Authors

Sometimes it only takes a small thing to trigger an idea. When that happens and you're flowing, it is a wonderful feeling.  Your pen flows freely over the page; you don't have time to stop and think. You are a vessel for some higher creative force.


On other days, you may stare at your empty pad or word processing page and wonder why you are putting yourself through this. Perhaps you have a deadline and the fear of not finishing in time is cramping your flow, or maybe you just need to refill the artistic well by taking a walk, listening to music or reading a book.


The exercises I like best are the ones where you have a few bits and pieces to play with. You can use some or all of them; change them or go off in another direction entirely. Go with the ideas wherever they take you.

R..... Name of person, place or animal beginning with the letter R.

E..... Equine ‒ this could be a carriage, a ridden horse or even Shanks' pony.

G..... Garden ‒ or perhaps a grove, a grotto or even a garage!

E..... Evening ‒ or morning; dawn or dusk; breakfast or supper.
N..... Nobility ‒ or aristocracy/gentry; ordinary folk or felon; tradesman or servant.
C..... Colour ‒ scenery, scent, sound and sensory detail.
Y..... Year ‒ present day or historical; time of year and weather.

Quickly jot down one or two words for each of the above, then set your kitchen timer or watch for ten minutes and start writing. Don't worry about spelling or punctuation and write as quickly as you can. Don't censor what you write; that can come later. Try and allow the ideas to flow. You do not have to use all your words. It is a starting point.

Don't forget to reward yourself when you've finished.

© Heather King 2014

Writer's 'Block' Busting

Here's what to do if you're stuck for an idea! Three fun suggestions from Sue:

If you’re sat facing a blank page or screen and thinking that you should write something but you can’t think what to write – then try one of these ideas: 

• Set your kitchen timer (if you have one) for two minutes. Pick a word – any word- and pretend you’re in a race to see how much paper you can fill in the time. This doesn’t have to make sense, just keep your pen moving. If you really can’t think of anything to say, then put that – or begin a shopping list. You will find there are a few nuggets in there that are worth developing.
• Find some old magazines and go through them tearing out anything that interests you – colours, words, phrases, pictures of people and houses. Pick three of them and see if you can link them in some way. Create a ‘flash fiction’ story of 250 words. 

• Go for a five minute walk and collect at least five images – for example: 

          -   A child’s pink teddy abandoned in a hedge

          -   A plane trail across a clear blue sky

          -   The scent of bluebells

          -   The sound of a church bell

          -   The texture of green moss on a stone

         When you get home jot down two or three sentences about each of these and then see if you can link them in a story or poem.

Plan your writing session for tomorrow.

Reward yourself for the work you’ve done today.

Sue Johnson

Hello and Welcome!

As I was walking this afternoon, I met a lady with her two beautiful Labradors. We commented on whether we would ever get out of our wellies and it got me thinking...

What would we do now, in this age of torrential rainstorms, if the Duke of Wellington had not decided to have a pair of long boots created to protect his long legs? Would we still be struggling around in pattens?

Perhaps we should have a Duke of Wellington day, to commemorate his successes in battle, parliament and footwear. For indeed, he has given us mighty service. We could name the day - which must be in the middle of November, when the fields of the United Kingdom are generally awash with mud - Welly Day!

Cease rambling, Heather! Anyway, on my walk, I noticed various sensory details:

• The echo of a dog barking in deep woodland
• The swish of my coat sleeve against my side
• The sky was a sea of dapple-grey cotton wool
• A bank of timber stored in a barn
• The whistling of a workman
• The dank smell of a waterlogged ditch
• A whisper of wood smoke
• The sweet tang of spring on my lips from the soft south-westerly breeze
• Mint on my tongue from the boiled sweet I sucked
• The rough feel of the wooden stile
• The unyielding nature of the tarmac road after the softened turf of the footpath

Set a kitchen timer for ten minutes. Take any or all of these, add a name, a place or a time of year and a colour, then see where it takes you. Don't censor or worry about spelling. Allow the ideas to flow.

Good luck!